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15. arachne's funeral
At the Academy, the twins separate from their parents and head to the homeroom before anything else. There, they join their fellow classmates and mentors before heading outside to the front steps of the Academy, sorted by alphabet.
Junia’s dread grows tenfold when she realizes Cas (and Coriolanus) are to be separated from the rest of the class due to their extra assignment at the funeral. Cas’ face is composed but hardened as he stands next to Coriolanus, the latter showing subtle signs of being nervous but having an admirable ability to conceal it almost completely. They’re both in the front row among the Academy’s faculty and other distinguished guests such as President Ravinstill himself, Dr. Gaul and even the Beaumont family.
Now more than ever, she feels alone. With Castiel so far away and her right side empty, she briefly locks eyes with Max who only shoots her a sheepish grin before being reprimanded by their mother with a gentle tap on the arm. She frowns. Gaius Breen is on her left and for once in her life, she wishes he’d open his mouth and tell a joke. But he doesn’t. Even he adapts to the day’s theme and looks stone-faced.
Even across the avenue, people are beginning to gather. It’s an endless swarm of people dressed in black and even though Junia tells herself it’s best not to, she can’t help but look for Arachne’s family. When she can’t find them anywhere, she decides it’s for the better. She doesn’t think she’d be able to handle it.
She never liked Arachne much but when she puts herself into her brother’s shoes, she feels even more unwell than she already does. She could never imagine losing Castiel, or even Max. Losing either one of them would shatter her beyond repair.
Cameras are everywhere, too, as expected. Funeral banners and Capitol flags are everywhere she looks and truthfully, despite the fact that she feels horrible for those thoughts, she wonders if perhaps all of this isn’t a bit exaggerated. Arachne’s death had been gruesome for sure but she doubts that it would have gotten the same attention if she had died of natural causes. It’s oddly laughable but she doesn’t feel like laughing at all.
It doesn’t feel fair. There’s a small part in the back of her head that reminds her of how many people had died during the war, her grandfather and grandmother among them. She hadn’t been close with either one but still, seeing Arachne get such a farewell seems unfitting. It’s all a giant shitshow and she’s in the middle of it with nowhere else to go.
At nine sharp, the crowd falls silent. Coriolanus swallows and steps ahead towards the Podium, Castiel trailing behind him with his head raised high — but not too high to seem arrogant either, simply to look composed and not like he wants to rip his slicked back hair out — and his hands at his sides. Coriolanus is first, taking deep breaths to calm himself before he steps in front of the microphone. Through the speakers, a tinny version of the anthem begins to play.
“Gem of Panem
Mighty city
Through the ages you shine anew”
Junia doesn’t think Coriolanus’ singing voice is all that bad. He’s not off-key but it’s definitely noticeable he’s not a singer. It reminds her more of slightly melodic talking. All things considered, though, she thinks he’s doing a good job. Compared to him, she’s surprised she even remembers the lyrics when she joins the other people present to sing along.
“We humbly kneel
To your ideal
And pledge our love to you!”
Her eyes wander along the sheer endless amount of people gathered for Arachne on this day. She sees her father standing next to President Ravinstill, his expression unreadable as he sings along. Her mother is standing next to Dr. Gaul and looks almost tearful. She really wonders where this comes from all of a sudden. It can’t be because of Arachne, that doesn’t seem right. Junia tells herself that, surely, her mother is only about to cry because she’s next to Dr. Gaul. She thinks she would, too.
“Gem of Panem
Heart of Justice
Wisdom crowns your marble brow”
When Coriolanus steps away from the podium to make space for her brother, Junia gets the feeling he’s incredibly proud of himself. Even the president shoots him a nod of approval and she swears Coriolanus is about to burst with pride.
Castiel stands in front of the podium, his eyes taking in the mourning crowd. His heart feels heavy but not because of Arachne. His hopes of his attempts at saving the girl being forgotten soon enough are now even further away because at the end of the day, he and Coriolanus will be known as the ones singing at her funeral. That will stick with him for a long time, possibly even forever. In the depths of his heart, even more resentment for Arachne grows. He knows it’s technically not her fault.
But, honestly, what did she expect? That Brandy would laugh? That she’d plead with her to give her the sandwich? He bites his tongue but then unclenches his jaw on cue.
“You give us light
You reunite
To you we make our vow”
Junia keeps her eyes on Cas, quietly singing along. Even though the crowd doesn’t have much to compare his voice to, she’s not surprised that he sounds considerably more on-key than Coriolanus did. It seems a waste, having him sing for Arachne out of all people. The only thing keeping him going has to be the fact that she’d hate it as much as he does. His voice is softer, less like a melodic recital of the text but he’s genuinely singing. And she can tell that, probably for the sake of his dignity, he’s not going all out like he does under the shower.
“Gem of Panem
Seat of power
Strength in peacetime, shield in strife”
Her eyes meet her little brother’s and she almost regrets it. Though Max has his hands folded in front of him, his expression is one of pure boredom. He sings along, or at least she assumes so since his mouth is moving, but when their eyes lock, he rolls his eyes. The corners of her mouth twitch and she quickly looks away. It would be horrible if she was seen laughing at a funeral that is shown everywhere across Panem. Her parents would skin her alive. She swears her mother is about to burst into tears. She’s not mean, but she really wants her to calm down.
“Protect our land
With armored hand
Our Capitol
Our life”
Castiel, too, receives a nod of acknowledgment from the president and together with Coriolanus, they retreat to the first row. Junia can’t help but think all of this is ironic. Surely Sejanus must be thinking the same thing right now — on the day of the reaping, she teased her brother about his singing. Now, not even a week later, his singing is broadcasted for all of Panem to hear.
The president clears his throat and begins to speak, “Two days ago, Arachne Crane’s young and precious life was ended, and so we mourn another victim of the criminal rebellion that yet besieges us.” His voice is deep and full of authority, yet Junia can’t help but feel like they’re really exaggerating now.
Arachne was young, sure. But, despite how much it shook her, this is too much. Too much for a girl that taunted a starving person with food. She takes a deep breath and has to put in a conscious effort not to laugh. It’s ridiculous, all of this.
If Treech saw this, he’d say it’s, in his words, “so Capitol”. And he’d have a point.
Nevertheless, the president continues, “Her death was as valiant as any on the battlefield, her loss more profound as we claim to be at peace. But no peace will exist while the disease eats away all that is good and noble in our country. Today we honor her sacrifice with a reminder that while great evil exists, it does not prevail. And once again, we bear witness as our great Capitol brings justice to Panem.”
Her gut tells her something is off, like something is not right.
Justice?, she wonders, What are they going to do? Bomb the districts? No, that can’t be it.
Her gut feeling is right — it’s worse.
The drums begin a slow deep boom and as the funeral procession rounds a corner onto the street, her eyes widen. She sees the Peacekeepers, the way they’re marching along to the rhythm at a steady pace, but it’s not what captures her attention. Now she knows why all of those Peacekeepers were suddenly heading into the zoo right as they left.
Right behind them is a long flatbed truck, a crane attached to it. There, at the top and high in the air, Brandy’s corpse can be seen hanging from a hook. She’s swinging back and forth with the movement of the truck and though no more blood flows out of them, her bullet wounds are visible even from a distance.
Before she can stop them, tears gather in her eyes and she has to try hard to blink them away. Gaius Breen next to her gasps softly, his eyes staring straight at the remaining tributes which are shackled to the truck bed. The chains are so short, none of them can even stand up straight. Even sitting looks painful, and while most of them simply crouch or sit with their heads hanging low, Junia spots Lucy Gray trying to lift her head as much as possible.
Sheaf has her hand placed over Panlo’s, only looking up when the truck passes the student body. When she sees Castiel — his suit neat, his hair slicked back but an expression that clearly shows hardly concealed fury and anguish — she glances away. Junia’s breathing quickens, her fingers curling into the sleeves of her dress and she tries to keep the tears at bay. Mizzen is almost curled against Coral but even the redhead has her head lowered much like everyone else.
She knows she doesn’t want to see him like this but when she finally spots Treech, it takes every shred of her willpower not to sob. Just about an hour ago, they were at the zoo and talked like nothing else mattered. Sure, today’s topics were a bit grim but still, she enjoyed his company nevertheless. Much like earlier, she swears her heart is about to burst out of her chest but for a completely different reason.
She always thought of herself as troubled with the Capitol’s ideals and what it stands for, but in this very moment, she comes to realize that she hated all of it all along. Is this how Sejanus always felt? She wants to look for him but he’s not in the same row and she doubts she’d be able to handle it anyway. She already knows he’s looking at Marcus, probably with tears in his eyes just like she is.
And then, as if he knows she’s looking, Treech lifts his head. He blinks, his eyes seem to be taking the entire scene around him in and she already knows he must be thinking how stupid all of this is. There’s a humiliation about the situation that even he can’t fight against. He’s chained up with a corpse dangling over his head, and he’s sure he looks as filthy as he feels. The last time he cleaned up was the morning of the reaping and even though he was able to maintain some sort of dignity, especially in front of his mentor, it all crumbles.
He sees her, finally spotting her amidst the crowd gathered for a girl that inevitably caused her own death. He wants to scoff but his eyes widen when he realizes something — Junia is crying. He saw her shed tears when Arachne was killed in front of her, but even from afar he can tell that she’s trying hard not to break down. Tears of pity, perhaps? But it’s not her fault.
Junia is kind — the Capitol isn’t.
Treech had this thought since the beginning but he wonders how she’s able to be so kind and caring towards him and the other tributes when she has been surrounded by the Capitol’s influence all her life. Her brother, too. Is it because of their friend from District 2? Is it just the way they are?
He bites his tongue. He wants to shout, to tell her he’s okay and that she doesn’t need to cry, but would that even be true? He’s not okay at all. Unlike most of the other tributes, his stomach is considerably full but his entire body is aching in pain.
When she’s visiting him and talking to him, Junia always seems so approachable. She’s kind, funny and empathetic. But now he realizes that they’re worlds apart and it hurts almost more than the shackles around his wrists and ankles. Here, away from the zoo, she’s out of reach.
The difference is as clear as day. She’s Capitol, he’s district.
Junia can barely even make Treech out through the amount of tears that are gathered in her eyes and keep on running down her cheek. Most around her must be thinking she’s simply mourning Arachne but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s a sickening feeling, the sudden hatred she feels for Arachne. It’s because of her selfishness that this is happening in the first place. She blinks and chews on her lower lip uncomfortably, briefly watching as another battalion of Peacekeepers follow the truck and a quarter of horses follows.
They maintain eye contact until they can’t anymore. Junia feels like throwing up.
Arachne’s coffin is white and draped in flowers. The rest of her family is in a horse-drawn chariot and they look surprisingly uncomfortable, glancing around the entirety of it all with expressions showing both discomfort and a certain amount of disbelief. It’s almost as if they can’t believe their daughter, their sister, is receiving a farewell like this. Not even they seem to understand, so why would anyone else?
When the coffin draws up in front of the podium, Dr. Gaul takes the podium and Junia prepares herself for the worst. She still hasn’t recovered, her eyes sting and her cheeks burn from the tears she shed for the tributes, for Treech. There’s no way she will ever be able to forget the pained look on his face, even with how much he tried to hide it.
But just today, Dr. Gaul speaks clearly and coolly. “Arachne Crane, we, your fellow citizens of Panem, vow that your death will not be in vain. When one of ours is hit, we hit back twice as hard. The Hunger Games will go forward, with more energy and commitment than ever before, as we add your name to the long list of the innocent who died defending a righteous and just land. Your friends, family and fellow citizens salute you and dedicate the tenth Hunger Games to your memory.”
While she’s sure Castiel and Coriolanus are exchanging glances that are something between disbelief, contempt and amusement at the sheer ridiculousness of it all, Junia feels like she can’t breathe.
She thinks back to her findings from the previous evening. The scales, the black liquid stored in vials — now it all makes sense. She doesn’t doubt that whatever muttations Dr. Gaul has created weren’t planned from the beginning but right now, she understands why her mother has been working so hard ever since Arachne’s death.
Are they working on making the muttations even more deadly? To make whatever they do to people even more painful? She wouldn’t put it past them. And it horrifies her that, as of now, her and her brother are the only ones with any knowledge about it. It’s only scarce, though. She needs to find out more.
Her head feels like it’s spinning. When the crowd begins to thin out, her gaze is sweeping the crowd aimlessly. Castiel must be on his way back to his fellow mentors now, Coriolanus possibly by his side as they exchange small-talk and have other people trying to talk to them, to tell them how well they sang, how sorry they are for their loss.
She knows Cas is coming but in her eyes, he’s not fast enough. It’s not his fault but she turns around, dabbing at her cheeks as her eyes sweep over the students.
She sees Gaius Breen eyeing her out of the corners of his eyes, unsure what to do. But he doesn’t need to do anything.
Before she knows it, her feet carry her over to the one person in the crowd that she knows will understand her the most. The one person she knows is feeling the same anguish as her, if not even more so.
At the sight of his best friend looking so lost and defeated, memories from two days ago flood Sejanus’ mind instantly. Her breathing is uneven and he feels like crying himself, still thinking about the humiliation of the tributes not even minutes ago. All thoughts of Arachne leave his mind, however, when Junia almost makes a beeline for him.
He opens his arms in an instant, wrapping her up in an embrace both so tender and yet firm it keeps her from falling apart. She doesn’t sob, she only cries silently and he feels a lone tear trailing down his face, too.
It’s not for Arachne.
He’s angry. No, he’s furious. It’s so many emotions at once, he feels his hands shaking and he tries to mirror Junia’s breathing to calm down.
Whatever he’s saying, Junia can’t understand it. She inhales deeply, fisting his jacket, and just tries to steady her breathing. They don’t hug as often anymore as they used to when they were younger, but it comes naturally. His hand is on her back and when another smaller hand lands on her shoulder, she knows it has to be Lyssie’s. When she speaks, she sounds composed but there’s an undeniable tremble in her voice.
Junia had bad days before — but this has to be one of the worst of them all.
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and suddenly, sadness turned into anger.
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next chapter coming up!!
2 funeral appropriate memes the rest is in the next one!
"did you wait until this chapter to post these" yeah